When cycling home this evening from Waterloo towards Clapham, it soon became clear there was a major problem – no traffic southbound from Lambeth Bridge all the way to the Vauxhall Cross roundabout. Turned out there had been an accident there – quite serious, and apparently a fatality according to a bemused bus driver I spoke to. Sometimes being a cyclist is helpful – today, as on 7th July, I was one of the few to have a normal journey.
But that’s not fair I thought… All the people waiting for the southbound number 2 and number 88 buses on South Lambeth Road were going to have to wait for ages for their buses still stuck many kilometres away. So I made sure I advised all the people at the bus stops that there had been an accident, and that perhaps they should walk or find some alternative way to travel. The beaming look of gratitude on the faces of the people at the bus stops was remarkable. People who would stare at the ground all the time in typical London commuter fashion were pleasant and thankful in return. Fingers crossed that these people will be more inclined to do the same in the future. This should be a lesson to me: however much this city grinds me down, I should do my bit to make it a little less dreary.
